


Iesha And the City Frozen In Time

by IeshaFox



Series: Descendants of Light [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 17:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4754570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IeshaFox/pseuds/IeshaFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the song World So Cold, by Three Days Grace...<br/>A world has been shaped into the void, a world that exists all in one fortress, named after the most famous city of Earth II. A trial has been running throughout the centuries of the citizens' imprisonment, and those who fail, must join the unfortunate people inside.<br/>A new generation has come, and Iesha Fox, daughter of the famous Kirae, has stumbled upon this city, and she is the next victim of the trial. Many obstacles await her unpredictable approach, and a city seeks to be unfrozen from within time itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Into Time/Death Of a Hero

Thousands of years in the past, on  
the planet of Earth, before the human  
race fully began, the angel,  
Kir Drate, and the demon,  
Kalias, waged a war of light  
and darkness.  
Time has passed for the world,  
though they turned a blind eye on  
a city stuck in the past, in the  
primordial years of low  
technology, and small weaponry.  
All thanks to the mischievous  
demon, Kalias.

......

The war was taken to a large  
benefit to Kir Drate's power,  
a major city known as  
Thekadreis.  
Kir Drate was unsure what  
would have brought Kalias to the city  
itself, but she knew that the people would rally.  
A common phrase she followed  
was, "You share strength with me,  
I share strength in turn. Let  
us all win." She meant to stick  
by this for her entire eternity of  
living.  
"It's the angel!" came a  
voice as Kir Drate glided on  
a beam of light to the ground.  
"He's putting a siege on  
the city, what do you expect? She  
wouldn't let us down."  
Lance, her faithful sword  
flickered into existence, hilt on  
her palm, balanced perfectly.  
"Mistress, are we taking him  
head on?" the sword pulsed in its  
only way of communication.  
"We are, are you ready?"  
"Bring him on."  
A flash of dark energy surged  
passed Kir Drate's ear,  
exploding into showers of darkness.  
The wind from this explosion pushed her  
forward, quickening her descent to the ground.  
She knew immediately that it was  
Kalias who was firing at her.  
"Stand by the angel!" roared a  
crowd of the human residents.  
"Guard the angel! Free the realm  
of shadow!"  
Free the realm of shadow, as  
Kir Drate hoped to do someday.  
"I'm not saying this again, angel!  
Come to fight me, face-to-face,  
or I will blow your golden hair out  
of the sky!"  
He was taunting her, but Kir  
Drate remained afloat, gliding  
gracefully to the Earth, her hands  
cupping a ball of Electricity and  
Light.  
"Are you ready, Lance?"  
"Yes ma'am."  
"Then, let's take this guy  
down!"  
She landed easily, and leveled  
the sword she held, sparks running  
along its blade. The counterpart  
to Lance appeared in Kalias's  
hand, Alcatraz gleaming darkly in  
the bright light.  
Kir Drate turned to the city,  
and the people gathered at its outskirts.  
She spoke, her voice carrying  
melodically to them. "Rally to the  
Light! Rally to victory!" She  
raised Lance in a salute, turned  
back to the Demon, and raced to make  
the first attack.  
Her blade raised, slashing  
at Kalias's neck, but he  
parried, the energy from both swords  
jolting through her.  
She must maintain her energy,  
she must.  
She spun the blade on her  
palm, and stabbed forward. But, he  
blocked again. She slashed, two  
quick strokes, one back, the other  
forth, the second striking a glancing  
blow to his shoulder, pushing him  
back.  
But, he was not defeated, for he  
came at her with ferocity,  
Alcatraz swinging, slashing and  
slicing this way, then that, quicker than  
she could see, causing her to attempt  
to parry.  
The whirl of the blade was   
disorienting, but she had to fight on.  
What was going on?  
She noticed Kalias stop, then  
she heard it too. The scream  
of a charging, girl?  
"Who is this?" he mocked,  
raising Alcatraz to strike her  
down as she neared.  
"The one to become your downfall!"  
the girl cried, raising a large  
mace in one hand, a broadsword  
in the other. The sword parried  
Alcatraz, and the mace struck  
at Kalias's legs.  
The sweeping slash struck, just as  
Alcatraz slammed against the mace,  
and the girl was knocked back.  
Kir Drate knelt to help  
her up, and silently, she questioned  
the girl with her gaze.  
"Ma'am, I am merely a  
girl hoping to help, though my name  
is Scar."  
"Intriguing name." Kir  
Drate said, standing up. "Are you  
hurt?"  
"Not badly."  
"Then go back, please, conserve  
your life's energy."  
"You wish her to stay, why not have  
an ally?" Kalias gloated,  
"After all, physical strength  
is better than donated strength from  
worthless humans."  
He laughed mirthlessly, and Scar  
shook her head. "I'm fighting with  
you, no matter what this big ball  
of darkness says! You're going down,  
you cowardly fool!"  
This girl's got fire, thought  
Kir Drate as Scar raised  
her weapons, and began a ferocious  
assault, throwing insults as well  
as slashes, slices, and cuts.  
"You call yourself a Demon?  
Where are your powerful attacks, you  
incompetent liar?!" Scar made  
a slash at Kalias's neck, where  
the human neck would be. But, the  
blade of the sword went straight through  
his human-like skin.  
This gave the Demon the  
opportunity he needed, to knock  
Scar back to the ground. Kir  
Drate saw his clawed hand wave,  
and a black mist seemed to trail  
backward, away from the city.  
It turned, about fifty yards back,  
and headed straight the way it had  
come. In front of it however, was a  
massive, black, steel machine.  
Scar gasped, as she landed, her  
small, frail body bouncing along  
the dirt. Kir Drate was too  
stunned to move, she was watching the  
machine being propelled forward,  
straight for Thekadreis.  
Kir Drate jumped into action  
seconds later, and ran to Scar's  
side. "Can you fend him off, just  
for a little bit?"  
"Yes, why?" Scar asked.  
"I need to take that thing out."  
"It's no use!" Kalias  
gloated, grinning grotesquely.  
The machine rolled at a steady  
pace, raising a metal arm holding  
an odd cannon. But, the cannon  
lowered to aim at the ground when it was  
at the border of the city.  
Archers from the city shot arrows for the  
bulky machine, and Scar raced  
for Kalias, her weapons whirling  
through the air. Kir Drate however,  
raced for the machine, Lance glowing with  
Light Energy.  
The blade slammed against metal  
and made a clang, no damage to the  
machine.  
She struck at the cannon,  
meaning to sever it from the arm, but it  
did nothing. Nothing was hurting it,  
and nothing could stop it.  
The cannon fired, and the ground  
began to be covered by ice, the  
dirt turning blue.  
"Scar run!" Kir Drate  
yelled as the ice spread through the  
city, and where it touched, disappeared.  
She was all-too familiar with this  
machine, and it was disastrous for this city.  
"Remember, everyone of  
Thekadreis, remember me!"  
"Remember, pitifully  
helpless residents of  
Thekadreis, the deity you worship,  
can do nothing to win this war." Kalias  
laughed as he whirled a whip of  
pure Dark Energy, and threw it  
at Kir Drate. It struck,  
and he pulled, then threw her to the  
ground.  
She realized then, even an  
immortal deity can become  
unconscious.

......

This was the point where there was no  
turning back, and Kirae Fox  
knew it. The large metal doors  
wheezed, then slammed shut.  
She was officially assigned as  
an elite Kir Drate member  
with flowing black hair, and green  
eyes, to this dangerous, stealth  
mission. She wore a navy blue  
jacket over a white shirt,  
black jeans, and black shoes, not  
exactly the cover one would expect  
for an assassin. She had a  
weapon's belt around her waist, and  
on it was her faithful sword,  
Lance.  
It was said that this  
Demon-imprisoning sword had  
been passed down from Kir Drate  
herself, and Kirae wielded the blade  
with honor.  
Grinning to herself, Kirae made  
her way through a series of hallways,  
letting the mission begin, following  
her instincts to where she needed to go.  
"Lance." she whispered to the sword  
at her side. "Can you tell where  
to go?"  
The sword pulsed, the only  
communication the sword could make.  
Communication which some Elementals, like  
Kirae, could understand.  
"Jumbled, huh?"  
Three slow pulses, and the sword  
was quiet. She was to wait for the  
scan to be complete. Kirae had  
her orders, wait, hide,  
scanning.  
The sword dimmed its already  
small source of light, just enough for  
Kirae to disappear into the shadows  
along the wall.  
"Top floor, I am not  
sure where yet." Lance pulsed, just  
as a door opened with a screech, then  
shut with a slam.  
Starting forward, slinking along  
the wall, Kirae inspected the  
dark room, noting the swivel of a  
search light come on.  
Ducking her head, Kirae  
moved on, holding her breath  
in anxiety.  
"Come on," she prayed,  
"Please, do not notice, please  
let me pass unseen."  
"Staircase up ahead."  
Lance pulsed gently when she finally  
made it free of the room.  
"Shall I ascend?"  
"Yes."  
But, just then, an alarm began,  
to blare and doors flew open, people  
storming through. Up Kirae sprinted,  
all thoughts of caution lost as she  
raced for the second floor.  
Once on level ground again,  
Kirae didn't let up her pace,  
but that was a mistake. She ran  
face first into a girl, a sword  
covered with Dark Energy at her  
side.  
Kirae seemed to fly backward  
in slow motion, yet she landed with a  
slam that pushed the breath from her  
lungs with a gasp.  
"It seems, I've found the  
mutt causing the disturbance.  
Looks like I don't have to inspect  
my people. What are you doing here,  
Fox?" Reina Calligien,  
daughter of her first enemy, Zoin,  
spat, looking down at her.  
"Isn't it obvious? I've  
come to win, once and for all."  
"Charre, take Alcatraz,  
and dissect this pitiful pup."  
Reina said to a girl beside her,  
pulling free the darkened sword.  
"Yes ma'am."  
"Sending your worthless assistant  
to attempt to pull me down, huh?  
That puts you stooped at a low  
level, Reina." Kirae said,  
unsheathing Lance, and standing up.  
"No, Fox, not JUST my  
assistant. How about nine others  
along with her. Effect plan  
gamma immediately."  
Doors opened, and the blaring of the  
alarms ceased. Standing in front of  
Kirae were ten Kalias elites,  
swords drawn, and ready to fight.  
Lightning sparks along Lance's  
long blade, and Elemental Energy  
surged through Kirae. "You want  
me? Just see if you can get me!"  
Then, the battle became chaos.  
Reina had disappeared, and Kirae  
was left to fight.  
Charre, a girl with black hair  
that looked like it had been singed,  
and eyes like charcoal, raised  
Alcatraz, a feared sword  
by any Elementalist.  
"Come on then." Charre said, her  
tone of voice reluctant, and  
annoyed.  
Kirae threw her entire weight  
into a thrust from Lance, but the blade  
angled up, and toward Charre.  
But, the girl was ready, and she  
parried easily, causing a shudder  
to go through Kirae's body. But, that  
was nothing to stop her, so she spun,  
slashing at Charre's companions,  
causing their ranks to falter.  
"Miss, she's coming!" Charre  
called as Kirae broke through,  
and ran for Reina, who was casually  
walking from the room, and up a  
staircase.  
Just then a glint of metal  
whistled by her head, and Kirae  
ducked, increasing her speed.  
Then she realized, Charre had  
just thrown Alcatraz, in an  
attempt to get it to Reina. But,  
Kirae knew that whether or not  
Reina had a sword when she  
made it to the top of this building,  
would not matter.  
Kirae picked up the sword,  
and sprinted up the stairs, following  
Reina's path, as the girl disappeared  
around a corner.  
The slam of a door was heard,  
and then Kirae knew, this was the  
final floor. Where Reina would  
make her stand.  
Then, Kirae heard a low  
humming, along 1 steadily  
speeding up beeping.  
"That can't be good."  
At the door, Kirae staggered,  
having forgotten she was holding  
Alcatraz. The blade dropped  
from her grip, and landed with a soft  
thud on the ground. Kirae  
made the mistake of looking at  
the hand that had held the forsaken  
sword. On her palm was a thin  
scar shaped like a cross.

......

Iesha Fox, the daughter of the  
elite assassin in the Kir Drate  
group, Kirae Fox, stood by the  
window of her house, looking out at  
the night.  
She had a good view of the  
building which she knew her mother had  
entered just fifteen minutes ago.  
She didn't know what had  
caused her to do so, but the next thing  
Iesha knew, she was running through  
the streets, a mace clutched in  
her small hands. The funny thing  
about Kirae Fox, she couldn't be  
satisfied with just a few weapons,  
necessary swords, and a few belts with  
daggers, no, she had decorated  
the house with a full-on arsenal,  
from maces, to spears, and odd throwing  
discs.  
Iesha started sprinting down the   
dark streets, looking for a sound which  
had pierced her ears. A soft,  
barely noticeable, yet very  
insistent beeping.  
Lights were up ahead, and  
Iesha immediately knew, that's where her  
mother had gone. And that was where she must  
go.  
"Girl! You can't go in there! It  
is just suicide! That place is  
heavily guarded!"  
Iesha spun, holding up the  
mace as she heard the gruff  
male's voice.  
She was standing next to a building that  
was adjacent to the Kalias base,  
Kirae had told Iesha of the  
group, and its bases, so Iesha  
suspected this was one of their evil  
establishments. It seemed she was  
right. Standing next to her was a ragged  
man with a hard, lean face.  
"I have to go in there." Iesha  
remarked, looking at him.  
"Do you want your limbs chopped  
off, and sent back to your mother?  
"My mother is,"  
"Do you want Kalias to kill  
you, an innocent little girl?" the  
man poked a finger in her direction.  
Then he noticed the mace in  
her hands.  
"And," he continued. "I  
suspect that that weapon won't get  
you anywhere. Them assassins have  
guns, and other weapons, they  
outnumber you by a lot."  
Iesha finally stopped listening to the  
man, and turned for the building.  
She had to find her mother, and help her  
out. Thus, Iesha started forward,  
taking slow, deliberate steps for the  
building. She barely heard the  
mutter of, "Foolish, rash child!"  
Neither did she notice the man  
follow, or the scrape of a sword  
being pulled from its sheath.  
Whether she was willing to have him,  
he was ready to fight alongside her,  
despite her rashness.

......

Kirae had to track down  
Reina, she had to finish this thing off.  
"There must be a higher point in this  
building, maybe a secret door?  
Can that be possible?" Kirae  
asked Lance.  
She had left Lance, and the ones  
she had had to battle, behind without  
killing them. She knew that that would come  
back to bite her.  
But, she had to find Reina, whom  
had fled.  
She felt a wrenching feeling in  
the back of her head, sensing the  
dislocation of someone near her.  
"Iesha." Lance pulsed. "Your  
daughter child has moved, I can sense  
it."  
"Me too."  
There had been a tradition  
established in the past, which Kirae  
had just recently learned about. Some  
people could bind their child telepathically,  
with Light, to their minds. That way,  
it could be easier to protect them, by knowing  
if they were safe.  
Kirae felt the Lightbond  
of Iesha moving closer to her.  
Entering a room, Kirae  
noticed what she needed. On the  
ceiling of the large room, was a  
knot of rope.  
"Can you assist me?" Kirae  
asked. "I need to get up there."  
A soft creak from the sword, and the  
blade seemed to hook of its own  
accord, which it had. Kirae jumped,  
raising her arm upward, and just barely  
caught the knot, pulling at it with  
Lance.  
Soon, a screeching joined the  
humming, and beeping, and a metal  
ladder unfolded from the ceiling,  
clearly marked as the door Kirae  
had been looking for.  
Now, it was time to ascend.  
When at the top, Kirae looked  
around the similarly large room.  
At the far side, near a door,  
was Reina Calligien. And in her  
hands, she held a Duel  
Pulse-Rifle, aimed straight  
for Kirae.  
"Well, well, little pup!  
Let's see if you can make it  
over here! If you can, then I'll  
duel."  
Kirae spotted the black  
sword on her belt, and immediately  
recognized it as Alcatraz.  
How had she gotten it so fast?  
But, Kirae had no time to think  
of the answer to that question, because Reina  
began to fire rapid bursts of  
Pulse Energy from the rifle.  
The projectiles thus raced  
straight for Kirae, who dodged  
easily. As the girl tracked her,  
continuing to fire, Kirae dodged,  
and slowly advanced on the girl.  
Reina would get her duel.  
"Mistress,"  
"Lance, like I said, please do not  
call me that."  
"Kirae," Lance pulsed the  
correction. "I have prepared a  
barrier, sort of."  
"Sort of?" Kirae ducked  
as a projectile rushed toward her.  
Then, she raised the sword  
to block yet another barrage of  
bursts.  
When they hit, they bounced back.

......

Iesha ran straight for the door,  
hitting it with the mace, and causing it  
to slam open. When she entered, she  
noticed the automatic chaos.  
People were running, the Kalias base  
had been breached, some of the less,  
intelligent members, were running  
amok. And with the people running back and  
forth, came the piercing shriek of an  
alarm.  
Is this what it's like, Iesha  
thought. Is this what it's really like  
to be an assassin? Trying to sneak  
about enemy bases.  
Well, either way, Iesha had  
to figure out what was going on, what  
her mother was up to.  
She heard a clashing of swords  
nearby, somewhere above her.  
She grabbed one of the weapons from  
a wall, having lost her mace,  
and began for a staircase.  
"And where do you think you're headed,  
little thing?" came a female's  
voice, mocking her.  
Iesha whirled, the sword she  
now held, spun in the palm of  
her hand.  
"Who are you?"  
"Why, I'm the right-hand girl  
of Reina. And your opponent this  
evening."  
Both lowered themselves into a fighting  
stance simultaneously, Iesha  
with the sword held leveled, blade  
upward, and this mysterious girl  
holding her own sword leveled  
for what would be Iesha's heart.  
"Well then, you get the first  
move, Fox pup."  
Iesha braced herself, lowering the  
sword, and readying herself for a  
charge. When it finally came,  
Charre, Reina's closest  
assistant, was stunned by the  
strength of the blow which brought the two  
into a close combat duel, rolling  
across the floor.  
And neither of them knew about the  
explosive which was set to explode  
in a mere 5 minutes.

......

Kirae and Reina's "on the  
run" battle took the two  
to the level below, Reina drawing  
Kirae down with her. Away from her  
initial target.  
Something was going on here, something  
that Kirae had to stop, yet Reina  
was distracting her.  
Lance pulsed with a high amount of  
Elemental Energy radiating through  
her.  
"You've saved enough Energy for  
me to shoot a couple Element  
Beams." Lance pulsated.  
"Thank you."  
"Use them wisely, M,  
Kirae."  
"I will." Kirae dodged one  
of the Energy Shots, and sprinted  
headlong down the staircase,  
tracking Reina. At point-blank  
range, Kirae shot a beam of  
Light and Energy straight for  
Reina, and missed.  
Instead, it struck a door,  
completely obliterating it, and  
throwing it against a wall.  
Down in the room below, Kirae  
noticed Reina standing still, her  
Pulse-Rifle held straight  
toward her, but Reina's fingers  
looking calmly drumming on the  
trigger. And upon coming into the room,  
Kirae knew why that was.  
Iesha Fox, Kirae's own  
daughter, was the last person she would have  
expected to be laying on the floor,  
dazed, and breathing fast, her gaze  
fixed on the girl whom she had  
just knocked unconscious, Charre.  
"Iesha? Iesha! You need  
to get out of here!" Kirae said,  
dashing over to her daughter's side,  
and helping her to her feet.  
When Kirae let go, the  
frail-looking girl wobbled,  
unable to stand on her own.  
"Mom? I, I came to help."  
"Iesha, you need to leave now!"  
From what Kirae knew, there had  
been 5 minutes. And now, there  
was 30 seconds.  
"Run!" Kirae shouted  
urgently, pulling Iesha by the hand,  
along the halls. Behind her, she  
heard Reina laughing.  
"Yes," Reina mocked, a  
cackle piercing the air. "Kirae  
Fox, you coward! Run, before your  
life ends! Run all you want,  
and it will never be enough!"  
Pulling Iesha along behind her,  
Kirae only heard the thumping of  
her heart, the thundering of her feet,  
and the piercing beep which had become one  
monotonous ringing.  
Time had run out, and Kirae  
Fox, as well as her very own  
daughter, were as good as dead.

......

"Mom!" Iesha shouted through the  
haziness of her vision.  
Her mother's fingers had slipped  
from her grasp, and she was running  
blindly through twisting corridor after  
confusingly twisting corridor, hoping  
to find the exit.  
Through the pounding of her feet, Iesha  
could not hear the crumbling of the ceiling,  
and the walls.  
But, Kirae was still alive however,  
as alive as Iesha was, and she  
was fighting her hardest against Reina,  
who wielded Alcatraz.  
Every hit hurt, burning every inch  
of her body, as well as her soul.  
But, one final hit, and a  
multitude of things happened  
simultaneously. The building  
disappeared, and Kirae just fell,  
Iesha fell outside as flames  
engulfed building.  
And in the back of her mind,  
Iesha heard one thing, as if on  
cue, a grizzled man stood near  
her, remarking softly, "I told  
you, girl. That place is big  
danger. Your mom is as good as  
dead now. I'm sorry."  
That was the last thing that Iesha  
heard, letting her ragged body  
go to sleep. She was exhausted, and  
it was time she slept, wherever she  
could.

......

Kirae struck at Reina,  
her body covered in burns, and  
cuts, some of which began healing very  
quickly, yet, she was still injured.  
"Lance! I can't hold on much  
longer! Is Iesha out?"  
"She is." Lance confirmed as  
she let loose a stream of deadly  
Elemental Energy, which completely  
missed Reina.  
"Good."  
Reina raised the sword one  
final time, and smiled wolfishly.  
"Good bye, Kirae Fox. Good  
bye, you worthless pup!"  
Then Alcatraz was lowered, and a  
searing pain took over Kirae's  
body.  
She couldn't think, she could only  
scream, crying out in pain, and  
anger.  
But, that was all she could handle,  
and she vaporized, Lance falling  
to the ground.  
All that was left of Kirae  
Fox, and the area of battle, was  
dust, and a girl who wanted to weep.


	2. Elemental Maturity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wracked with sadness, training has begun, and similarities have been spotted. Iesha Fox is designated a young copy of her mother. While this happens, a plan is formulated for the Thekadreis' fortress, as it's called.

Within a fortress cut off from the  
world of Earth, people stood gathered around  
a large table, looking at the  
woman at its head.  
"Jaenna, what is it you're  
proposing?" demanded one of the men  
glaring at the woman at the head of the  
table.  
"I'm proposing we wait."  
Jaenna, the leader at this moment,  
remarked.  
"In this steady cold? You must  
be mad! We'll be dead within the  
week!"  
"How can we escape in the first  
place? We've all seen, the  
doors are closed to us, we're  
trapped in here." Jaenna's voice  
was calm and collected, as if she  
had been through this many times already.  
"We have to find a way out!"  
"We will stay here." came a new  
voice, a small voice.  
"Scarlatine, please stay out  
of this." Jaenna replied.  
"No. The prophecy, I have  
read it over, and over, and over again.  
It states that there's someone who will  
save us. We just have to wait until  
it's done. The inscription left  
by the men and women of old  
Thekadreis, it's here, right now,  
and important, for a reason."  
"We've waited ten thousand  
years, all of us lying dormant,"  
"Not all of us. We would have  
woken earlier, if we were set  
to be free. But, since I have been  
awake, I looked in the  
libraries, and examined that  
prophecy." Scarlatine, also  
known, more commonly, as Scar, spoke  
with confidence.  
"What do you propose we do?"  
"Find a way to communicate with the  
outside world, and see if this city  
can be brought back."  
"Well then, you heard her."  
Jaenna said, sighing as she stood.  
"Let's prepare ourselves. I need  
everyone who can do so, to help make  
some sort of communication device.  
This meeting is dismissed. We will  
talk later, on this matter."  
Jaenna waved her hand, and started  
for the door of the great hall. "And  
Scar, will you come with me, please? I  
need to talk to you."  
As the crowd dispersed, some were  
heard by Scar, murmuring about taking  
orders from a child. Well, she was far  
more than just a child.

......

The nightmare wracked her body  
for years upon years, and Iesha Fox  
always had a hope for revenge in  
her mind, something she knew she'd  
get someday.  
Iesha knew that one day, she  
would kill Reina Calligien in  
retribution for the death of her mother.  
The morning that Iesha knew she  
would be sixteen years of age, she  
found something very odd about the house she  
lived within, with her siblings.  
Along her leg was a sheath, and  
inside that sheath was the famous sword  
her mother never left without.  
It was the legendary Lance.  
Sitting up wearily, Iesha  
looked back at the events that had  
transpired after that night, when  
Iesha had passed out.  
Though, she couldn't quite recall  
clearly.  
She remembered walking home,  
after passed out, and waking up in the  
near dawn hours of the next day. The  
fire from the building had diminished,  
and all that was left behind was darkness.  
She had made her way back  
to the house, breathing raggedly, still  
wounded.  
"Iesha? Are you all right?"  
asked Amber, one of the ten year old  
twins, that was Iesha's sister.  
She spoke, her voice quavering,  
breaking Iesha's reverie.  
"What's up, Amber?"  
"Sorry, Nico and I were  
wondering if you were all right."  
"I'm fine, I promise."  
Amber and Nico were opposite  
twins, yet they seemed more attuned  
to each other than one would have guessed.  
The two were ten years of age,  
the youngest of the four siblings. Iesha  
was sixteen, Katelyn was thirteen.  
"Did Kate find something in my  
Aura?"  
"Yes, but she didn't say."  
Iesha and her siblings had grown  
up with the ability to use the Elements,  
and before Kirae's death, she had  
been training them.  
Kate had control of the enigmatic  
Wind Element, Amber able to use  
Fire. Nico however, contrasted  
his twin sister, using Water, and  
Iesha, whom directly descended  
from Kirae, could use the  
unpredictable Lightning.  
Iesha sat more straight, holding  
out one hand to her younger sibling. The  
girl accepted the hand, and the two  
embraced, Amber laying her head  
on Iesha's shoulder  
affectionately.  
"She's dead, isn't she?  
She's really dead?"  
"Yes." Iesha replied  
sadly.  
The two sat, embracing each  
other, remaining silent for long  
moments. They sat in the center of the  
main room of the house, on the lower  
level.  
"What are we going to do now?"  
Amber asked finally.  
"I'm going to win this war."  
"War, Iesha?" Kate's soft  
voice came from beside her, and both  
Iesha and Amber jumped.  
"It's a war of families.  
And I suspect that while our  
families, the Calligiens,  
and the Foxes, are still here, we'll  
always be at odds. I will not stop  
until I have a truce,  
negotiation, or death."  
Iesha sat, the room quiet  
after her announcement.  
"So, you seek retribution for  
mom's death, yet, you know that will  
only continue this battle?"  
"Yes."  
"Then we have a long way to go. A  
long, long way to go."  
Though she was younger, Katelyn  
Fox seemed the wisest of the  
siblings. Iesha knew it, yet  
didn't envy the girl. They all  
had a heightened sense of what was  
right. Kate with wisdom, and Iesha  
with determination, and strength, for  
example.  
A knock came at the door,  
which swung open seconds later,  
revealing Kyren, Kirae's teacher,  
and instructor when she was a young  
to recruit at the Kir Drate  
Assassin's Academy.  
Despite the misleading name, the  
prodigious school was not for  
assassins, only combatants in  
general. That's the way it was with  
both Kir Drate, and Kalias.  
Kyren stood, a hand on the  
door frame, looking at the  
siblings gathered in the room.  
"Good morning, everyone."  
"Nico's still asleep, I  
just couldn't sleep." Amber  
remarked.  
"We may need to train some.  
As your mother had a mission yet  
to be started, I was wondering if you  
could go in her stead."  
"All four of us?" Iesha  
asked.  
"I believe so, I doubt that the  
knowledge and combat skill you possess  
individually, will be enough to defeat the  
threat that stands currently."  
"What is this, threat?" Iesha  
asked, standing finally.  
"The nearby capital city of  
Thekadreis seems to have gone  
quiet, its member from the Consulate  
has gone missing. Kirae would have  
gone to examine the city, and see what  
has happened."  
"We're happy to help. Do you  
expect Kalias to have had a part in  
this scheme?" Kate, always the  
optimistic intellectual, asked,  
sounding very professional.  
"Combat training would be necessary for us  
in the Enclave to send you. I do  
believe that Kalias, the members,  
as well as the Demon himself, had a  
part in this." Kyren nods.  
"Then, let's begin!"

......

Iesha's turn had come to take  
on the combat regiment, and she was  
ready to practice.  
She was hooked up to a large  
black console within a cupboard,  
Kyren standing at the controls, just beside  
her.  
"Are you ready?" he asked.  
"Are you kidding? Let's do this!"  
"Just like your mother, I see." he  
smiled as he pressed button after  
button, and finally looked down at  
Iesha.  
"Then let's go."  
She nodded, just before her head  
fell to the side, and her eyes closed.  
Moments later she found herself in a  
completely different world.

......

She stood on the ground, Lance  
held firmly in one hand. In  
front of her was a large pit,  
a glint of fire held inside.  
Behind her stood a large cliff.  
"Make your way to the monolith to the  
north. I have placed you facing that  
direction. There you will find what you  
need to complete this mission."  
"Got it."  
North, that was beyond the pit.  
"Lance, any ideas?" she asked.  
"Maybe Lightning could create a  
bridge for you." Lance suggested, glowing  
faintly. The pulsation vibrated through  
Iesha, an idea which seemed the  
perfect way to go.  
She placed her sword against the  
ground, letting Elemental Energy  
channel through the sword and into the earth.  
A crack sounded, and then a burst  
of Lightning sprang forth, spreading  
across the pit. It seemed a little  
too easy to Iesha.  
But, she crossed anyway.  
"Be ready for the obstacles ahead,  
miss." Lance warned. Just as the  
pulsation reached Iesha a rock came  
hurtling through the air, and into the pit  
below her.  
Iesha sped up, letting her  
instincts kick in, sprinting along  
the Elemental bridge. Her right  
arm swung forward to hit a flying  
rock, knocking it aside and into the  
chasm.  
The only hint of how far they  
fell was the moments before it hit the  
fire below, a geyser shooting up.  
But, it was recalled just before the  
bridge, as if bouncing back.  
She leaped over the rest of the  
bridge, the wind caught on  
Lance's blade, propelling her  
forward.  
She stood on the other side  
finally, the bridge crumbling into the  
chasm, and disappearing.  
The monolith that Kyren had  
mentioned, stood before her, a massive  
grey building, its door a menacing  
black the emblem of a dragon's  
fang, connected to a claw.  
"The top of this obelisk is  
the enemy whom you must eliminate."  
Kyren's voice came to her in  
one ear.  
She blinked, and felt for whatever  
had allowed her to hear him, and a  
chuckle came through the equipment.  
"It's just a headset, so you can  
communicate with me, and vice  
versa." Kyren assured her.  
"It's more of an implanted one rather  
than a physical one. I was able  
to make it in construction of this  
course."  
The door opened of its own  
accord, so Iesha entered the dim  
hallway beyond. It was empty  
inside, the walls were thick bricks  
of stone.  
Iesha carefully treaded across the  
marble floor, making her way through  
room after room. Each door had a  
strange carving above it, the same  
carving she'd seen on this building's  
entrance.  
Remember, this thing is to test  
you, Iesha told herself as a shadow  
moved. It's a rigorous training  
ground, so treat it as such.  
The next room Iesha felt a  
strange sensation as the door closed  
on its own.  
"There's no way back, Fox  
pup," came a snide voice from  
a darkened corner. "And this battle  
will render you the last to die, of your  
family."  
Iesha raised Lance, leveling  
the blade at Reina Calligien,  
who stepped from her corner.  
"I see you carry that worthless  
sword of your mother's." Reina  
observed. "But, that won't last  
long. Soon I'll wield both  
Light, and Darkness!"  
She launched herself at Iesha,  
her own sword outstretched. Instinct  
kicked in, and Iesha thrust Lance  
forward, almost as if she wasn't in  
control. The swords clashed, and  
scraped against each other.  
A taunting smirk played at  
Reina's lips as she slashed,  
sliced, and thrusted at Iesha,  
a series of quick attacks which Iesha  
barely managed to keep up with.  
"You're worthless!" Reina  
stated, a glancing blow knocking  
Iesha to the side. Reina did not  
stop, however, for she advanced quickly,  
and carefully.  
"If you seek to be a good  
wielder of the blade of the Angel,  
then you'll need practice.  
Practice you'll never get."  
Iesha rolled to the side as the  
sword slammed into the ground, piercing  
the marble with a dull thud.  
Iesha stood quickly, and started  
for the door at the far end of the room.  
She knew she couldn't fight Reina  
off, so she only had one choice.  
She had to run, and run fast.  
And run is what Iesha did.  
Reina's laughter followed  
Iesha as she ran.  
"Mistress Iesha. The  
structure for this building's  
collapsing fast. It is  
imperative that you collect what  
is at the top, and go."  
"Right, thanks Lance," Iesha  
remarked, leaping over a hole in  
the floor that was two feet wide.  
Up a flight of stairs she  
flew. Iesha barely heard her  
pounding footsteps over her racing  
heart as she ran.  
The trek upward, spiraled in  
a blur through Iesha's head, and  
before she could scan her surroundings,  
they had passed, and she was in the  
next hallway, on the next  
landing, or even around a simple  
corner. Though, she wasted no  
time.  
Bricks rained down on her  
as she traversed the monolith's  
massive interior, a winding  
maze she felt would never end.  
"Mistress, you can't stop!"  
Lance said at one point. Iesha  
found herself panting, and doubled  
over, hands on her knees. "You  
are the heir to the sword," Lance  
rea%ssured her, pulses being  
sent through her body. "Strength  
lost, is strength gained, now  
move!"  
"Right," Iesha straightened,  
scanning the corridor.  
At its end stood her own mother,  
a blue replica of Lance held  
firmly in one hand.  
The two stood, swords leveled  
at each other, gazes locked in  
a predatory competition, both  
willing their opponent to stand down.  
"Mom?" Iesha asked, looking  
at her. Shwh looked exactly  
the same, though, her left arm  
was held limply at her side.  
"You seek to pass, child, you must  
first pass through me."  
Something about her voice was  
different, wrong. It sounded ragged,  
almost metallic.  
"Mom?" Iesha whispered,  
looking at the green eyes she  
shared with her mother, the long blond  
hair, and the tall physique.  
"I am only a projection.  
I am here to test you. So, Iesha  
Fox, let me ask you, how well  
can you wield the sword of the Light  
Angel?"  
"We'll just have to see."  
The two looked predatorially  
at each other for a moment, and finally,  
this clone of Kirae Fox leaped  
forward, slashing at Iesha. The  
latter slashed back, blocking the  
attack deftly, almost as if she'd  
been born to wield Lance.  
And in truth, Iesha knew she  
had.  
Iesha made a dash for Kirae,  
who had retreated, but the other was  
waiting for her. They clashed twice,  
and then Iesha backed away, immediately  
taking a defensive posture.  
Iesha ducked as a bolt of  
Lightning streaked across the area,  
and cracked part of the wall.  
"There's one thing you must remember,  
Iesha Fox. For a true  
wielder of the sword, Lance, one  
must harness her Element!"  
A spray of electricity  
slammed into Iesha sending her  
sprawling to the ground.  
"And I'm afraid you've not  
mastered it yet."  
Iesha stood, raising her own  
replica of Lance, harnessing the power  
within the air, bolts of Lightning.  
But, she couldn't quite remember raising  
her arm to do this. The Lightning that  
had hit her had numbed her senses,  
and fogged her brain.  
"Well, let me learn from  
testing." Iesha stated, lowering the  
sword, its blade aimed for  
Kirae's heart.  
First one bolt, then a second,  
and finally a third bolt of Lightning  
shot forth, and Kirae dodged them  
all, batting them away with the blade  
of her sword.  
This was good, she was on the  
defensive, which gave Iesha an  
advantage.  
She raced forward, her sword  
raised, and slashed downward in an  
arc. The blade cut through thin air,  
and she was tackled to the ground.  
She struggled, but to no avail.  
"Now, Iesha Fox. Say  
your last goodbyes."  
Kirae placed her palms together,  
and sparks came to life.  
Iesha struggled again, futilely  
attempting to get away.  
She turned her neck, which had  
an odd symbol glowing on it.  
The symbol glowed an intense  
shade of yellow, blinding both  
Iesha and Kirae.  
That was all Iesha saw before  
blacking out entirely.

......

"There's nothing we can do!" Scar  
objected as Jaenna looked at  
her. "We're trapped here!"  
"We already know this!" Jaenna  
exclaimed, pounding her fist on her  
desk. "We've known this since  
we first woke ten thousand years  
ago!"  
Scar flinched as she said this.  
"Sorry, miss." she looked  
down.  
"Scar, are there any  
prophecies that tell of our  
savior?"  
Scar shook her head.  
"The prophecies are vague.  
They just tell of the Seven Seals,  
and what they will do."  
"So you have explained time and time  
again. They will unlock the fortress,  
send us into the real world again. But,  
even so, you must realize, we've  
been frozen in TIME as well as  
stone. That means, we're thousands of  
years old!"  
"I do realize this."  
The two looked at each other  
for long moments, and Scar found herself  
remembering the day they'd been  
frozen, incapacitated in this  
fortress of ice.  
She recalled the Angel facing  
a foe. But, the foe seemed too  
strong for her.  
"What about the Angel?" she found  
herself saying finally.  
"What about her?" Jaenna asked,  
"She's been dead since our  
imprisonment began, you saw it  
yourself."  
Scar shook her head. "I'm  
afraid, she's not dead."  
"What? What are you talking  
about? She was killed that day!"  
Scar shook her head again, her  
gaze steady.  
"That's where we're wrong.  
We've been saved by faith in the  
Angel, am I right?"  
Jaenna sighed, then nodded  
mutely.  
"That means that there's still a  
possibility for escape. Faith  
will save us, I'm sure of it!"  
"Then, let's get to work on  
that." Jaenna said.

......

Iesha rolled over, and found  
herself back in reality, the training  
mission having ended.  
"Congratulations, you've completed  
the course!" Kyren said, smiling  
at her as he unhoked the straps  
keeping her safely against the machine.  
"But, I lost the fight."  
"You didn't see that amazing  
spectacle you pulled at the end?"  
She shook her head.  
"You're just like your mother, Iesha.  
And that is why you've got no more  
combat training."  
Iesha smiled as she rubbed the  
feeling back into her wrists. The  
ropes keeping her to the machine  
seemed to have chafed her wrists more  
than normal, and a faint golden  
lightning bolt glowed against the back  
of her hand.  
She scanned the symbol, then  
looked up to Kyren's smiling  
face.  
"What does this symbolize?"  
she asked, and he looked at her  
hand.  
"It seems as if this symbol  
has been branded into your hand. This could be  
the sign of your Elemental  
maturity."  
She stared at him blankly.  
"When an Elemental, or  
Elementalist is, as they call it,  
"mature," they gain the abilities  
of their Element, and a symbol of their  
maturity."  
"So, I'm eligible to use the  
Element of Lightning?" she asked,  
looking at him curiously. "Just like  
mom?"  
He nodded.  
Speculating this, Iesha was  
silent for moments that seemed to last  
forever.  
Finally, Kyren straightened, and  
started for the door. "There is an  
airship docked outside. The  
crew aboard are ordered to escort  
you to Thekadreis."  
Iesha nodded mutely, and let  
him lead the way out onto one of the  
upper balconies of the house, and  
onto the deck of a large airship.  
All the while, she was pondering  
the signs of Elemental maturity.  
That would be something she'd have to have Kate  
fill her in on, later.  
Kyren waved farewell to the  
group as they strapped in for the ride,  
and he departed the house.  
"Kyren asked me to give these  
to you." a man clothed in green and  
grey said, handing each of the siblings  
a black bag. "This includes all  
the details of the mission, and the gear  
that may be necessary, including climbing  
gear, and clothing that will help suit  
the different weather  
possibilities."  
"Than you," Iesha blanked on  
the name of this student. Or, was he  
a teacher?  
"Kalvin." he said, introducing  
himself.  
"Thanks, Kalvin."  
"Approaching drop zone!" called  
a voice from the helm of the airship.  
"Prepare to land in thirty  
seconds."  
"Is this what it was like in Kir  
Drate?"  
"Yes." Kalvin smiled. "And  
your mother got used to it very fast."  
With that thought, Iesha and her  
siblings walked to the side as a  
rope ladder was thrown over, and to the  
ground.  
"Hey Kate," Iesha said,  
just before they descended. "I need  
to ask you a favor."  
"What is it?"  
"Tonight, will you inform me of what  
Elemental maturity is?"  
Kate nodded her confirmation as they  
descended into Thekadreis, the city  
frozen in time.

......

Scar was left to wander the  
marble corridors of Thekadreis's  
new environment, left alone with her  
thoughts, her fears.  
She kept looking back to that  
day before their imprisonment, the day  
she'd seen the Angel attempt  
to fight off the Demon, to drive him  
away from the capital.  
This plan had, unfortunately  
failed, thus resulting in their  
current predicament.  
A small dinging noise met her  
ears, and she looked to the ceiling  
quizzically.  
What had that symbolized? What  
was this little alert?  
"All Thekadreisians  
report to the Hall for a meeting."  
Jaenna spoke over the speakers  
in the ceiling, and in the walls,  
alerting everyone to what she wanted.  
"I have an urgent message from our  
"away" team."  
Filing into the area people referred  
to as, the Hall, residents of the  
formerly thriving city came to sit  
at the large table set in the room's  
center. As with the last meeting not  
two days previous, Jaenna  
sat at its head. This time, Scar  
sat just to her right.  
"What is this about?" people muttered.  
"Could it be about Kir Drate?"  
"Or the Demon?!"  
People muttered, and murmured  
speculations. Not even Scar  
knew what had happened.  
When Scar glanced behind herself  
she saw three people holding between them a  
strange oblong object cloaked  
in grey tarp.  
"Now that we're all here, we  
have news of an arrival into the reality  
of this city."  
People gasped, and more murmuring  
broke out.  
Finally, once silence settled  
again, she spoke again. "We have  
visitors. Kris, Jai,  
Tanner. Show them what you found."  
The three let the object  
settle on the ground, and each took  
a hold of a piece of the tarp, and with  
agnonizing slowness, pulled it  
away to reveal an ancient  
panel, lit up by a grey, icy  
sky.  
The view looked down upon the  
city of Thekadreis in the real world.  
The view descended upon four foreign  
people.


End file.
